


to the moon & back

by danteasers (milkcart)



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Real Person Fiction, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Domestic Relationship, Gen, Long Distance Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, astronomer & astronaut au, its a banger trust me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkcart/pseuds/danteasers
Summary: “I would go to the moon and back for you.” Skeppy says.Bad’s heart is doing an extra lap around the universe and he doesn’t know if anyone but Skeppy can make him feel this way and he doesn’t know if anyone but Skeppy can say those exact words to him and mean it truly.-AU where Skeppy is an astronaut and Bad is an astronomer.
Relationships: BadBoyHalo & Dream, BadBoyHalo/Skeppy
Comments: 44
Kudos: 282





	to the moon & back

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY 4 MIL DIAMONDS EVERYONE, HAVE A TREAT!!!!
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Hui96LkCwRPMJNXFRVc2w?si=z7NxPCn-QoaJCt4OLX3cEQ 
> 
> and here’s a very moony playlist i made just for this fic feel free to listen maybe while youre reading or afterward its all fun

_2010_  
  
Bad loves space.  
  
It isn’t a mystery that he loves space.  
  
He’s in love with nebulae, stars, planets; in love with how far each and every single star is away from each other, he’s in love with galaxies and star clusters and black holes. He wants to learn _everything_ about space. He wants to know and he wants to learn about the universe and everything in it.  
  
He wants to know about the formation of galaxies and how stars die, he wants to know the different planets that revolve around stars and if life could exist on other planets, he wants to know what happens inside a black hole and what would lie inside of one. He wants to know and learn anything and everything about space.  
  
But he’s so in love with the stars and planets and space, because it’s so _out of his reach_.  
  
He decides that he wants to become an astronomer. Maybe even an astrophysicist. He _knows_ that it will be hard, but he wants to try it and he’s so passionate about astronomy and the study of space and he’s so so _so_ passionate about it, but he feels as if nobody understands how much he really feels about the subject.  
  
But he tries anyway. He tells his family his career pathway, and they support him so much. His father now calls him ‘his little astronomer’ now, and Bad gets a little bit flustered and embarrassed but he’s more than glad that his family support him in what he wants to do.  
  
Some other people don’t react as well- they say that it’s too hard, that you need to be a genius to become an astronomer, that the employment rate for astronomy is way too low to even be accepted as a job. Sometimes Bad is let down by these words, but he believes in himself and he knows- he _knows_ that he can do it. Because everybody on TV always says encouraging phrases such as “Aim for the moon, and even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars,” and “You can’t do it if you don’t try,” and so Bad tries.  
  
Bad tries so hard and he’s trying more than ever, because he doesn’t care if people don’t believe him. He’s going to prove all of them wrong. He’s going to become an astronomer, he’s going to know so much and he’s going to meet other people that are as passionate about space as he is- maybe even more passionate. He’s going to meet astronauts and _actual_ people that know so much about space and he’s going to do that and he’s going to make his family proud.  
  
—  
  
_2019_  
  
Bad’s done it.  
  
He’s become an astronomer.  
  
It was hard work. Years of Physics and Engineering and Maths and so much hard work, but he’s finished school and he’s gotten his Ph.D and he works at NASA and there is literally nothing more that he could ask for.  
  
Over the years, he’s worked at small time jobs like museums, science festivals, planetariums. He’s worked partly as a programmer and an engineer, and he can say he’s good at it- but he promptly quit after a few months to focus on his study and attain to his real goal. He’s so happy that he can finally do what he wants and it feels so good and he feels so new and there’s so many new people to meet.  
  
He couldn’t be more happy that he can finally work as something that he wants to be.  
  
There’s a man named Clay that Bad becomes friends with- who prefers to be called Dream, and he’s a few years younger than him. He’s tall and blonde and specialises in aerospace engineering. He’s probably extremely smart, and is always wearing a green hoodie and a face mask with a little smiley face drawn on top.  
  
A lot of the time, Dream is always walking next to this other boy, who looks like he’s about the same height as Bad is. Brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin and a gorgeous smile. Dream and the mystery boy are both beautiful and they’re both young, and they’re always with each other. Bad doesn’t know the other boys name though, and he only ever catches glimpses of him.  
(He does know the guy is _extremely_ cute though.)  
  
*  
  
Bad is doing paper work. It’s probably the most boring part of his job, to be honest. He’d much prefer teaching children about the solar system or planetary movements, but he’s stuck doing paper work and he knows it’s a necessity but it’s so so so so so so _so_ boring.  
  
“What you up to?”  
  
Bad jumps.  
  
He swivels his chair to turn face to face to the cute boy who hangs around Dream a lot. Bad doesn’t really know his name yet, so he still refers him to the cute boy and sometimes maybe even 'Dream's friend’, but only ever sometimes. “Um, hi?” Bad asks, because he’s _shy_ next to cute boys and he’s flustered as hell and he doesn’t really know what to say and the cute guy just sits his pretty bottom on the chair next to his and smiles this really cute smile.  
  
(Bad’s never noticed that he covers his mouth with his sleeves when he does, but there he is - hiding his smile because he knows it looks as bright as the sun, and yet it’s still so beautiful)  
  
“So…?”  
  
“I’m.. uh- I’m..” Bad stumbles, “I’m just.. doing paperwork,” he says, “Pretty boring, to be honest. I uh-” he stumbles again and he inwardly curses to himself for being so awkward. “What are you doing here? I’ve never really talked to you before… I mean, I ha-haven’t had much of a chance?”  
  
“Um.. ah, my friend Dream told me to come here. He’s a bit busy doing her engineering stuff so I can’t really bother him right now, I’m supposed to be doing training but that’s literally all I’ve done the past few weeks and I want a break,” he says, “I don’t know. Just came in here ‘cause I was bored - and also you were the first person I saw.”  
  
For the first time in his life, Bad is thankful that his office is the first one in the hallway.  
“Um, Dream told me you’re an.. astronomer?” he asked Bad.  
  
Bad nods his head, “Um.. yeah. I.. yeah. Space.” Bad curses his social skills and he really wishes he had more to say, but really, there’s nothing more to comment on. (Apart from the infinite beauty and mystery of the ever-expanding universe, but he’ll keep inside his passion for space to a minimum)  
  
The cute guy sighs and leans back, looking at the ceiling, “Same.”  
  
Bad knows that this boy is as passionate about space as he is (Bad didn’t even think that was remotely possible). They stay silent for a bit, and it’s a bit awkward, because they don’t really know each other- but from this angle, Bad can see eyelashes that flutter across his big eyes and Bad thinks they’re like tiny little comets over a dark sky and it’s honestly breathtaking.  
  
“I- I’ll be going,” he says getting up and leaving, then salutes Bad and does a cute wink at him.  
  
Bad might have a crush.  
  
(After a few minutes, Bad still realizes that he hasn’t gotten the cute guy’s name and he inwardly curses at himself and mentally notes to ask for it if they ever bump into each other again.)  
  
*  
  
Bad finds out so many things about space. It’s wonderful, because he gets to look at Hubble telescopes and satellites that only astronomers are able to use, and he is so happy that he gets to have this privilege of getting to be able to use them to research so many wonderful things.  
  
He gets to look at stars and draw diagrams of them, he learns more about stars than he could ever know before and it’s all so wonderful to him and it’s so exhilarating and new and _exciting_.  
  
He wishes he could do this everyday without ever getting older, without ever having to stop until he finds out every single detail about the known universe- but he knows that’s impossible and that the universe is so wide and huge and gigantic in contrast to him, but he can’t help but be passionate about what he does and he doesn’t think he’s been more happy in his entire life.  
  
“Oh yeah, Bad!” Dream says, whilst in the midst of a conversation (While Bad is doing work as well. He doesn’t really care that Bad is obviously studying on the Rosette Nebula- which is honestly one of Bad’s favourite Nebulae) “I haven’t introduced you to my friend, I feel like you two would get along well,” Dream says.  
  
“Oh yeah?” Bad says, while making notes and highlighting things that might be important.  
  
“Yeah, his name is Zak, but we all call him Skeppy. Do you want me to get him?”  
  
Bad swivels on his chair, turning to look at Dream and raising an eyebrow. “Dream, aren’t you supposed to be working right now?” he says, knowing full well what Dream’s work schedule is.  
  
“Nope. The Contractor Industrial Relations Officer is checking up on the rocket. I have nothing to do until they see if there’s anything buggy or wrong with the system, it might take a few days. Until then, I’m pretty much chilling,” he says- and while Bad can’t see Dream’s face underneath the face mask, Bad just knows he’s grinning underneath.  
  
Bad nods his head, “Okay.. so.. what the muffin is a whatever-you-just-said-Officer?” Bad asks.  
  
“Ah, uh. They just check on stuff. To see if there’s anything wrong. Issues, concerns. All that sort of stuff,” he says. “Not that we don’t do that already, but there’s some stuff that we could have missed. So, yeah.”  
  
“So.. why are you still here if you literally have the next few days off?” Bad asks Dream, clicking his tongue.  
  
Dream gasps for effect. “ _Wow_ , now I see you don’t want me here, Bad,” he glares at him. “And they didn’t tell me until today. I figured I might as well talk to you for a bit. Also, do you want to meet my friend, Skeppy? I can see you make googly eyes at him whenever you walk past him..”  
  
Bad rolls his eyes. “Pshh.. I don’t even know this Skeppy person, why would I be making googly eyes?” he says.  
  
Dream sighs as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Bad, I’m not blind,” he says.  
  
Bad rolls his eyes, “whatever.”  
  
“I’m going to get you to meet Skeppy when your break comes. I think you guys have the same break times! Just come over to the cafeteria during your break, I’ll be there with him,” he says.  
  
Dream disappears behind Bad’s office door.  
  
Bad rolls his eyes again.  
  
(He’d kind of forgotten what he was researching.)  
  
*  
  
Bad walks into the cafeteria, and a lot of people share the same break as him so the cafeteria is buzzing with loud chatter. Obviously, it’s not as loud as other places - where so much more people work - but there’s still a lot of people.  
  
Bad spots Dream in his iconic green hoodie and face mask, still looking as tall and annoying as ever, standing next to the cute brown haired boy who is always hanging around with him. Bad is blushing hard and he really hopes that Dream’s friend _isn’t_ the cute guy, because he doesn’t really know how to talk to cute boys and he might as well combust right now into a supernova because even though Bad has barely held a conversation with this guy, it doesn’t stop the fact that he’s still super cute and-  
  
“Bad!”  
  
Dream’s voice interrupts his thoughts, and he can see him waving his long arms. Bad walks over to him, counting each step that he takes until he gets there. “Is this your friend?” Bad asks, trying his hardest not to stutter or stumble or mumble, but it’s super hard when he is in the presence of a very cute boy.  
  
“Yep!” Dream says. “Bad, this is Skeppy. Skeppy, this is Bad,” He says, introducing the cute fluffy haired boy to Bad.  
  
(So that’s the cute boy’s name.)  
  
Skeppy pulls out his hand and Bad only assumes that they have to shake hands, and if Bad wasn’t holding a shit load of documents, it wouldn’t be as embarrassing to do it, but he _is_ holding a shit load of documents, so it takes him about 10 seconds of fumbling to try and get all of his documents into his left hand so that he can shake Bad with his right hand.  
  
“I heard a lot about you.” Skeppy says.  
  
“O- oh?” Bad stammers. It’s hard not to.  
  
Dream looks like he’s about to retort something but he decides not to.  
  
“So.. um.. what department.. are you in?” Bad asks.  
  
“Uh.. actually, I’m an astronaut-in-training. Hopefully I’ll be a real astronaut by the time I’m 30 years old, or something.” he says, scrunching his nose.  
  
“Oh, wow.” Bad says. “Good luck to you.” Bad notes down how young this boy looks.  
  
“Yeah, it’ll be a lot of training and studying, but I think I could do it. I mean, I’m already technically a part of NASA, so I think it could go pretty well for me. Hopefully.” he says.  
Bad nods. “Yeah,” he says. “I mean, if you need help in your studying, I could help you if you want.”  
  
Skeppy’s eyes light up. “Really? Ah, I’m majoring in maths and I’m also taking engineering and physics as an elective too. So I could call you or something if I get stuck on one of my assessments or need to study on something, right?” he says.  
  
Bad nods. “Yeah. I majored in Physics and took Maths and Engineering as a side, actually. So you could ask me about the other stuff, I guess..” he says. He didn’t know that Skeppy is still studying, but he still looks young (a lot younger than Bad is, definitely) and it must have been a miracle for him to get a good insight on NASA at an early age.  
  
“Yeah, actually.” he says. “Thanks for that, by the way.”  
  
They chat for a bit longer and Dream mentions needing to go to the bathroom, so they’re left alone- but to be honest, Bad doesn’t really mind it.  
  
*  
  
“Noveschosch, hey!” It’s the Executive Director, and they’ve only really talked once before. Bad doesn’t know why they’re talking _now,_ but he supposes it’s a good thing - so obviously he turns to look at him and he sits down very humbly in his chair.  
  
“Um, is there anything that I could help you with?” he asks, and he makes sure to act as professionally as he can (he knows his desk is a mess and that there’s pencil sharpenings everywhere and the documents are in messily sort out folders, but _he_ still needs to act well so he straightens his back and listens intently to whatever he’s saying- even if it’s not important).  
  
“Yeah, actually. There’s a Planetarium, somewhere in the city. And Sam- one of our other astronomers, by the way- usually does this sort of stuff, but he’s focusing on taking care of an education program to teach kids how to code. I was just wondering if you could take his place instead?” he asks, “You just need to teach kids about the Solar System and answer questions that they ask. It isn’t really all too hard- unless you don’t like kids.”  
  
Bad is more than happy to take it, and he nods his head eagerly. “Yes, yes! I would love to do it!” he says, hopefully not too enthusiastically, but obviously his voice hates him and it gets more high than it usually does.  
  
“Ahh, if it’s alright with you, I’m thinking of sending you with that Skeppy kid. Children love astronauts, and he’s one in training. So just let him answer questions about astronauts or let him talk about how to become one,” he says, “And then let those kids explode their energy around the planetarium. You’ll do it right?”  
  
Bad’s head bursts at the thought of teaching kids about space with Skeppy. It seems like easy cash, and fun, of course- of course he’ll do it. “Yes, yes. I would love to! Sending Skeppy in doesn’t change the fact that I want to do it.” Bad says, stating the facts.  
  
(But if he’s going to be honest, sending Skeppy with him honestly makes him want to go even more.)  
  
*  
  
“I heard you were going to fill in Sam’s role at the Planetarium with me.” Skeppy says.  
  
“Ah, yeah.” Bad says. “Kids, right?”  
  
Skeppy nods eagerly, “If there’s anything I love more than space, it’s kids. Well, maybe dogs too. But, you know,” he says, “dogs are really cute, and who isn’t passionate about dogs?”  
  
“I love dogs! I have a dog, she’s my best friend ever.” Bad gushes.  
  
“Dogs are the best! My doggo’s name is Rocco, he’s living back at my parents house though.” Skeppy says.  
  
“That’s such a cute name! My dog is Lucy. She lives with me, you could come over and see her sometime?” Bad asks shyly. “And anyway, we’re supposed to be talking about the kids, not our dogs,” Bad says, remembering the topic that they were actually meant to be discussing.  
  
“If someone heard that sentence without context, they probably would have thought we were married or something,” Skeppy comments with a snicker, to which Bad blushes to.  
  
They discuss about what things about space that they should teach the kids (and whenever Skeppy says something like that, Bad can’t help but blush at how disgustingly married that sounds). They start off with just teaching them about the Solar System and how big it is in scale of other things. They’ll answer questions and let them run around the Planetarium and Bad will probably run around with as much enthusiasm- because there’ll be plenty of telescopes and a huge observatory and Bad is a space nerd and he really loves looking at the night-time sky.  
  
Skeppy keeps talking and Bad can’t really hear anything except the words, 'Bad and I’ and 'kids’ coming out of Skeppy’s mouth and for some reason it sounds really right. But Bad isn’t even sure if Skeppy likes boys- and even if he did, he would never like him. And Bad’s stomach clenches because he can’t stop thinking about looking after both of their dogs together, and adopting two children with Skeppy and he probably shouldn’t be, yet he is and _fuck_.  
  
(Bad’s too dumb to notice that he’s in love.)  
  
*  
  
Instead of driving to NASA, where he would usually go, Bad spends the morning heading out to the City Planetarium. It’s the fated day- and Bad is so excited to be able to explore a new observatory and look at all their models; he’s so excited to read all of their documents on what they have found about space; and he is _most definitely_ so excited to see kids being as excited for space as he is (Bad also sternly tells himself that his excitement has nothing to do with Skeppy, but he can’t help smiling at the thought of an entire day spent in the company of the fluffy-haired boy).  
  
He comes early, because Bad’s self conscious of arriving anywhere late and he’s surprised to see that nobody’s there. There’s a nice lady at the reception desk who asks who he is and he stumbles over saying his own name, “Uh.. I’m here for the.. I’m here from..” he pauses so he can stop stumbling and then takes a deep breath, “I’m from NASA” he really doesn’t like talking to adults but he can handle kids, he’s _sure_ he can handle kids. It shouldn’t be that hard.  
  
“Uh, you’re the one taking over Sam for the week, right? Noveschosch?” she asks.  
  
“Um, uh. Yes,” he confirms, “Me and.. Sk- Zak.” He has to correct himself from saying Skeppy.  
  
“Mmkay,” she says, “alright, go inside. You got here pretty early. Your friend Zak should be here pretty soon.. the children arrive in about an hour or so. Just set up or explore so you’re sure you know what you’re doing.”  
  
Bad nods, and the automatic doors open to reveal a room filled with giant models of planets and comets, asteroids and different suns. But what Bad is awed by so much is the giant model of the solar system, and by giant models, he literally means _giant models, a lot_ of which are taller than him.  
  
There is even the fact that they put so much detail into the asteroid belt in between Mars and Jupiter, which usually everyone tends to forget. Each minor planet in the solar system, such as Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea and even more minor planets- and Bad is in such great _awe_ of it all that he thinks he might cry- because people _never_ ever remember the minor planets that are sitting in between Mars and Jupiter.  
  
On each model of the planet, there’s metallic pieces of information in a frame, and they tell little details such as the name of the planet, who discovered it in what year and interesting things about the planet. It might be one of the most beautiful- if not _the most_ beautiful- model of the solar system he’s ever encountered in his entire life.  
  
The automatic doors open again, and Bad catches a glimpse of Skeppy once again. “Hey, you!” Skeppy greets.  
  
Bad’s throat closes up, and he feels like he has the inability to speak. “Hi,” he manages to say, “you’re late,” he says playfully.  
  
“Shut up. I’m not a morning person,” Skeppy says, “I dont really wake up early because I sleep kinda late, and also a lot?” Skeppy trails off. “What’s it called? A night owl? I’m  
  
“True,” Bad says, “I do like the day too though, because animals and people are lively during the day, and I loove animals and talking to all my friends! I think that if I wasn’t an astronomer, I definitely would have been a teacher. Ooooh, or maybe a meteorologist or a weatherman!”  
  
“Bad, you do know a meteorologist still has to know a lot about space too, right?” Skeppy asks.  
  
Bad shrugs, “I guess I just really like space then, do you have a problem?” he says cheekily.  
  
“No,” Skeppy responds, with a smile on his face, “I’m probably as equally obsessed with space as you. On the bright side, we can both be supermassive space nerds!” Skeppy says, “I even wore my sweater of a nebula today. It’s super cool, right?” Skeppy asks.  
  
“Was your use of supermassive supposed to be a play on black holes because they’re suppermassive?” Bad asks, “It’s super cool! Where did you get it?” he comments, “I really like it, it looks pretty.” _on you_ he never adds.  
  
“Yeah, I didn’t think you would notice hehe. But um, my grandmother gave it to me,” he says, “can I wear it.. ironically? Because its 'cool’? Because I just like space and I don’t give a fuck?” He asks.  
  
Bad rolls his eyes and he really wants to say that anything looks cute on him, but instead he just settles for, “Language! And of course. It looks good on you anyway,” Bad says, “I wish I had space clothes.” he pouts.  
  
“After this whole ‘teaching kids’ thing, we could go outside and buy some coffee and try to look for space clothing for you, if you want..?” Skeppy says. “We’ll find something that you’ll like, it’ll be great! Then we could have matching space clothes, it’ll be awesome.”  
  
“Yeah, that would be great,” Bad says, while trying to contain his racing heart- but it’s hard because it’s beating almost as fast as a spacecraft, and he doesn’t even notice himself that his heart is beating that fast but he holds his heart- almost as if on instinct -and tries to breathe steadily to slow it down.  
  
“Great, we’ll go right after work!” Skeppy says.  
  
(Bad still denies how rapidly his heart is beating.)  
  
*  
  
The children have arrived, and they’re on a field trip so their teachers are supervising as well. They’re all around the age of 7 and 8, which is good; Bad doesn’t think 6 year olds will understand the complexity of space and he thinks that children above the age of 8 are kind of difficult to deal with sometimes (though he still loves them).  
  
They sit down on the floor, right in between the model of the sun and the cycle of Venus, but close enough for the model of Mercury to be sitting in between them- and Bad is getting serious anxiety: he doesn’t really know how to begin a lesson, but he could try anyway. The children’s teacher is explaining how they need to behave, as they’re in a public area- and all the basic stuff that teachers tell children when going on a field trip.  
  
“Okay, now you have to listen to Mr. ..?”  
  
“Noveschosch,” Bad says.  
  
“Mr. Nove- Novshosh and this one over there is..?”  
  
“Um, Ahmed,” Skeppy says.  
  
“Mr. Noveschosch and Mr. Ahmed, okay? Listen to them very well. They’re going to teach you about the different planets,” she says.  
  
The class begins to quiet down and Bad is stuck for words, because he’s never really taught children before. He doesn’t know why he’s getting anxious and why he thought it would be easy, but it’s still as difficult as talking to a normal person and he doesn’t even know why he signed up for this, but he has to do it-  
  
“Ah, so hello everyone!” Skeppy cuts off his thoughts and begins the class for him, “I’m Zak, and this is Ba- Darryl,” he giggles a little after messing up Bad’s name then points to both of them, “We work in NASA,” he says. “does anyone know what NASA is?”  
  
A kid raises up his hand enthusiastically and Skeppy points toward the kid to indicate him to answer the question. “Is- isn- isn’t it the- um- uh- isn’t it the space- the space people?” the boy answers, talking too quickly.  
  
“Yeah! You got it, kid,” Skeppy says, “NASA are the people that build rocket ships so that astronauts can go to the moon. They also research other things like how big the universe is and when stars are born,” he explains, “Does anyone know what an astronaut is?” he asks, keeping the conversation going.  
  
“Ah, me! Me! I know what an astronaut is!” says a young girl, sitting in the back. Skeppy nods his head at the girl to gesture her to say what it is. “Uh- uh- don’t they go to space and stuff, in a rocket ship?”  
  
“Exactly!” Skeppy says. “I’m actually training to become an astronaut, and B- Mr. Noveschosch- here is an astronomer,” he explains.  
  
“What’s it like in space?” another boy interrupts.  
  
“I haven’t been to space yet, but I want to go one day. Hopefully in a couple years time I’ll be able to go!” Skeppy says, “But right now, I’m teaching you kids about the solar system,” he says, clapping his hands together, “Does anyone know what the big ball over here behind me is?” Skeppy says, pointing to the model of the sun behind him.  
  
“Is it the sun?” a child replies.  
  
Bad feels like he isn’t even needed to teach this lesson and as if Skeppy could have done it on his own. It doesn’t matter though, because he knows that he’ll have to participate at some point, he just doesn’t know _when._  
  
“Yes, yes it is!” Skeppy says, “you all know about how the sun lights up our sky during the day.” He says. “How about we go to that planet over there, that’s in front of the sun?” he asks them and leads them over to Mercury.  
  
Skeppy continues until he tours all of the students around all of the major planets of the solar system, giving them brief explanations of each planet. Bad realizes that they’re able to go inside the model of Jupiter, because of it’s massive size, so he manages to take control of teaching during this bit.  
  
After they finish teaching, there’s a switch somewhere, that when pressed, lets each model of the planets revolve around in the speed that it corresponds to- so Bad presses it (with permission of course) and the kids start running around, trying to catch up with each planet.  
  
Some children are silly and try to climb on top of the asteroid planets, and some even attempt to climb on Saturn’s ring- but their teacher tells them off before they break anything and Bad can finally breathe when they do.  
  
Once they’ve finished and gotten tired, there’s another part of the Planetarium where the room is circular and the roof is shaped like a dome- much like the previous room. The only difference is that the room is much set out like a theatre. Bad sits down on a seat, not too far away from the entrance, but not too close where all the children were sitting.  
  
He can see the silhouette of a person and he can tell it’s Skeppy- because it isn’t the silhouette of a lady, but it isn’t the silhouette of a child either.  
  
“Hey,” Skeppy says, “can I sit next to you?”  
  
“Yeah, sure,” Bad says, looking downcast, “thanks,” he says, “I didn’t really know what to do for the first half, so that was really nice of you to- y’know, do a lot of it.”  
  
Skeppy smiles, “It’s no problem, it’s something a friend would do. Besides, you looked like you had the stage frights and so, well, yeah,” he says, sighing. “It’s alright though, I didn’t really mind anyway. I actually enjoyed it, I know I don’t seem like it- but I really love children, so you don’t have to beat yourself up over it,” Skeppy says- (and Bad _swears_ he winks- but it’s dark and Bad’s eyesight sucks so it might have been an illusion, but it’s still enough to get him flustered). “also, apparently there’s supposed to be a stellar show in a few minutes. I’m so excited for it. I actually really love these kinds of shows.”  
  
Bad relaxes onto the chair, looking upwards to face the roof of the building where the show is going to be projected, and the lights dim down and he puts his arms on the armrest, only to take it back because Skeppy’s arms have already occupied the armrest.  
  
Bad swears he felt a static jolt through his entire arm- but it may have been coincidence and he shrugs it off, turning his eyes to the screen to watch the short film.  
  
(For the entire film, he feels as if he has forgotten how to breathe.)  
  
*  
  
After the lesson, Bad and Skeppy decide to walk around the city and hang out for a while, because Skeppy promised coffee and Bad really wants some space clothing.  
  
They stop for a coffee and Bad never knows what to get, and he never gets the same thing twice in a row because he really likes trying new things. So he decides that he’s going to get a muffin and a caramel macchiato.  
  
Skeppy says he’s never tried a caramel macchiato before, so Skeppy asks the barista for another one and Skeppy thinks it’s really good and it might be one of his favourite coffees that he has ever tried, maybe ever.  
  
There’s small chat, and sometimes they get onto the topic of space and how huge it really is- because the moon takes _months_ to get to, and the fact that it takes people so long to get to the moon says a lot about how long it’s going to take for Earth to get to other planets- even Mars.  
  
Sometimes, whenever Bad talks about space, he always shoots people with ‘did you know’ space facts like: ‘Did you know: there’s is an _actual_ shooting star called Mira the red giant, and it flies around the galaxies shedding a 13 light year long trail behind it, which is pretty much it’s own _stardust_ , and that trail will create new stars in the future?’ and people usually act surprised and as if they didn’t know that, their replies varying from: ‘No, I didn’t know that!’ and ‘That’s really cool!’.  
  
But when Bad shoots Skeppy ‘did you know’ space facts, Skeppy’s immediate answer is usually, “I know, Bad.” and it always mind boggles Bad that there is someone out there who is as in just as much awe with space as Skeppy is.  
  
(Bad doesn’t really mind it. He just gets annoyed when he’s about to tell a space fact and Skeppy immediately shoots him down before he even gets to say what it is- and Bad still can’t process the fact that Skeppy knows these things already, because he hasn’t really met another individual who loves space as much as he does, but now he has and that’s still pretty amazing to Bad)  
  
*  
  
They’re at H&M because Skeppy promised that they would try to find Bad something cool that has stars on it, and they’re looking around and Bad finds a tacky looking cap that has the word DIAMOND emblazoned on it in blue, “Hey Skeppy, I found a hat for you.” he says, laughing.  
  
“Hahaha, are you calling me a diamond?” Skeppy says, looking at it.  
  
“Yeah, yeah. Put it on!” Bad pesters.  
  
Skeppy puts the cap on, “Am I cool?” he asks, doing thug hand signals to act as if he’s a really cool guy (even though it’s ironic- and the whole cap thing is ironic). Bad thinks he’s being a muffinhead though.  
  
“Yup,” Bad replies. “So cool,” he says sarcastically.  
  
“I don’t think so,” Skeppy laughs while covering his mouth, then putting the cap back down on the table where Bad found it.  
  
“Let me try,” Bad says, then takes the cap and then puts it on wonkily.  
  
Skeppy laughs, calls him bald, and they put it back down again and begin their search trying to find the space things again and Bad finally finds it- there’s a jacket and it has zips and pockets and the whole shenanigans and it’s got nebulae on it- and even though it isn’t a real nebula he really _really_ likes it so he puts it on, a grin painting his entire face. Bad thinks that even though it isn’t as cute as Skeppy(‘s space jumper), he really wants it anyway.  
  
“Do I look cool?” Bad asks Skeppy, as he tries on the space jacket.  
  
“Uh, you actually do look pretty cool,” Skeppy says. “I think most people look like pretentious hipsters, whereas you just look like a dorky guy who likes space.” Skeppy comments, while Bad is still playing with the jacket- still fascinated by it.  
  
“I kind of like the space coat,” Bad comments, and so they buy it.  
  
(When Bad calls him a dorky guy who likes space, he doesn’t really mind all too much)  
  
*  
  
Bad is getting anxious and his heart is beating so fast and he has been thinking of living with Skeppy for a while, and he’s never really asked but Bad really needs a roommate and he’s just found an apartment that isn’t that far off work and it’s pretty big but it’s pretty expensive (but really, Bad could afford it by himself- but he’s just finding excuses to spend more time with Skeppy).  
  
It’s both of their lunch breaks, and they’re sitting at the Cafe, and Skeppy takes a sandwich out of his bag and starts nomming. Bad plays with his hair, and starts bounces his leg- out of nervous anxiety to ask the question.  
  
“Um,” Bad starts. “so.. uh.”  
  
“Sup?” Skeppy says.  
  
Bad is flustered once again. “Um, I was thinking.. uh..” he stops, Bad clears his throat and begins again, his voice still shaking. “So I was thinking, um.. I’m considering moving out of my apartment, and well..” Bad is bumbling now, “it would be.. um.. it would be nice to have a roommate.”  
  
Skeppy luckily gets the hint and then continues to swallow the rest of his sandwich before saying his next words. “Wait, are you being serious?”  
  
“Completely serious. I can text you the address if you’re interested, you can come with me on Saturday, and then see if you like it or not.” Bad says.  
  
“I’m more than interested!” Skeppy claims, “I’ll probably like it if you like it anyway.”‘  
  
(Bad’s heart flutters and he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to live with Skeppy, if he might have heart palpitations every single time he says something that might suggest he feels the same, but it’s too late to back out now and he’s actually ashamed to admit it, but he likes that.)  
  
*  
  
Skeppy and Bad live together now, they have plushies lying around everywhere. Posters of Bad’s favorite anime’s lying around and a very large cactus that they decided to get for no reason.  
  
Bad thought that they were best friends before, but now he knows they are _definitely_ best friends. They learn things that they have never known about each other, and would have never known- if they didn’t live with each other.  
  
Skeppy finds out Bad has grows facial hair kinda quickly, and Bad finds out about Skeppy’s poor home habits- like leaving packets of food on the floor, snoring really loudly, leaving socks on the floor. There is probably more, but those are the main ones that frustrate Bad, usually.  
  
But despite that and all of the frustrating things that Skeppy may do- Bad can’t help but still love every moment he spends with Skeppy.  
  
*  
  
Skeppy and Bad are watching Interstellar, and Bad doesn’t think he’ll _ever_ watch a movie more amazing and breath taking than this one. Granted, Bad could probably pick out a handful of flaws from the movie- but it’s science fiction, so Bad shrugs off the inaccurate facts off and focuses more on the story and amazing visuals.  
  
It’s amazing and even though he’s still watchi-  
  
Skeppy takes hold of Bad’s hand.  
  
Fingers tangling with his, and Bad’s breath escalates and he can no longer focus on the movie- and only at the matter at hand (Bad’s not sorry for that pun- even though nobody heard it).  
  
Bad doesn’t ask why Skeppy is holding his hand, but he doesn’t want to ask in fear that Skeppy will pull back. So instead, Bad doesn’t say anything.  
  
(Bad’s little crush is spiralling out of control)  
  
*  
  
The movie finishes and they aren’t holding hands anymore (Bad hates that and suddenly his hands feel lost and empty, _incomplete_ ). It’s a bummer to Bad, but he doesn’t want to admit to Skeppy that he wants to hold his hand again.  
  
Skeppy is fumbling and then he starts mumbling incoherent words, it’s inaudible, and Bad hates being so bad at hearing that he could almost be legally deaf.  
  
“Huh?” Bad says.  
  
Skeppy speaks up, louder this time. “Are you a black hole? Because you gravitate me towards you,” he says, with a cheeky grin on his face whilst moving his body toward Bad’s so that he’s resting on Bad’s shoulders.  
  
It takes a few seconds for Bad to comprehend what Skeppy has said, and as soon as he realizes- he looks down, face flushing and both being bumbling idiots and looking at the ground with wide eyes, “Oh.” is the only reply Bad can muster to say.  
  
*  
  
Skeppy and Bad are watching an episode of some anime that Bad likes. Bad can’t focus with his head calmly rested against Skeppy’s shoulders. At this point in their relationship, they’re in between best friends and lovers- and they both know that they like each other and it’s _so_ obvious that they do, but none of them have said anything about it and it doesn’t hurt Bad at all, but Bad would much rather prefer it if they could say it out loud.  
  
“Someone took the stars out of the sky and put them in your eyes,” Bad blurts out.  
  
Skeppy looks at Bad, like he’s weird- and Bad feels like he has probably made a mistake to blurt it out, and maybe he’s been reading all the lines wrong, and maybe Skeppy doesn’t really like him at all and-  
  
“You’re an idiot.” Skeppy says, while he’s smiling softly.  
  
Skeppy rests his head on Bad’s.  
  
(Bad is relieved that Skeppy doesn’t totally reject him)  
  
*  
  
Skeppy and Bad are back at Starbucks, and it’s December- Christmas season. Starbucks are giving out Christmas edition drinks and so they decide to go inside to try it, because it’s almost Christmas and they both quite like the smell of freshly made coffee and the vibe of coffee shops during Christmas.  
  
They sit down at the table next to the windows, looking at the city. There’s Christmas decorations, scattered around everywhere, huge models of nutcrackers and a fake Santa Claus outside, with kids sitting on his lap and taking photos with him. It’s so pretty and Bad really loves the festive feel of Christmas, and how happy and warm it makes him- despite the cold weather.  
  
Skeppy has the Christmas Cookie Latte- because he likes the name, Christmas edition drink and Bad buys the Peppermint Frappuccino- also because he likes the name. The Christmas music is playing softly in the background and the day isn’t very busy but it’s only the morning anyway, so it isn’t expected to be busy.  
  
“Hey bad, you’re like the moon, because you shine even when it’s dark,” Skeppy says, holding his Christmas Cookie Latte and not looking Bad in the eye.  
  
(Bad doesn’t know why they started this game of giving each other space pick up lines, but he really likes it and his hands get sweaty as his hands wrap around his cup of coffee and he’s blushing about five hundred different shades of red. He doesn’t really want it to stop though.)  
  
*  
  
Bad is home alone because Skeppy was told to stay back extra time.  
  
Bad decides to text Skeppy while he’s gone, and it might not even make sense to Skeppy (but Bad doubts it, and he’ll probably get it anyway) but he decides that he’ll send the message anyway anyway.  
  
_To: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:24_  
_I IC 1805 you <3 uwu_  
  
Bad breathes in and then begins to watch videos of cats on Youtube whilst waiting for Skeppy’s reply.  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:32_  
_what are u talking about_  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:32_  
_wait a sec_  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:32_  
_i think i know what u r talking about_  
  
Bad’s fingers curl, a breath caught in between his lips and waiting for Skeppy to figure it out.  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:34_  
_omg_  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:34_  
_ure a nerd_  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:34_  
_that doesnt even make sense but ure a nerd_  
  
_From: Skeppy_  
_Sent at 0:35_  
_same <3_  
  
Bad’s heart constricts and bursts about five hundred different colours and he swears he’s never been more in love with someone in his entire life.  
  
(Bad bites his lips and he could swear that his smile is more colourful than a billion different fireworks right now, because he’s staring at the text and he tries to calm himself down but all that he can think about is that he just confessed by referencing the scientific number of the heart nebula- _I heart you_ ).  
  
*  
  
“Skeppy, Bad!” Dream says, calling out their names. “Uh, you guys are invited to my Christmas party. You both need to come, okay?” he says, giving both of them invitation cards. “I’ll murder both your asses if you don’t,” he threatens.  
  
“Language,” Bad says.  
  
Skeppy laughs. “We’ll be sure to come. We weren’t planning on doing anything anyway.” he tells Dream.  
  
“Alright, I’ll see you there!” Dream says, saluting the two of them.  
  
Bad sighs, “He’s so loud,” he says, “When I first worked here, he was my first friend- and I always saw you with him a lot. I don’t know why, but I thought you might have been like- a thing- too.” Bad says- with the thought of Skeppy dating anyone (that isn’t him) leaving a sour taste in his mind.  
  
“Really?” he asks. “We’re just coworkers, we never dated...” Skeppy says, “when he met you, Dream actually kept talking to me about you. I don’t know how, but I think he noticed that I thought you were pretty or something, and then tried to get us to talk and well- that worked well.”  
  
Bad zoned out as soon as he heard that Skeppy called him pretty and he didn’t really hear the rest of it except the fact that Skeppy called him pretty and _Skeppy thought he was pretty_.  
  
“Uh... Bad?” Skeppy asks, laughing. “Earth to Bad?”  
  
Bad begins tapping his fingers on his leg rapidly, bites the inside of his cheeks and looks downwards to hide his blushing face from Skeppy. “You really thought I was pretty?” he asks with the brightest smile on his face  
  
Skeppy flushes instantly.  
  
“Yeah. You still are.”  
  
(Bad swears he almost dies right there.)  
  
*  
  
It’s the day before Christmas and they’re at Dream’s party, Bad sticks with Skeppy the whole time because he barely knows anybody here except for the some people that he’s seen around work. The closest person he knows, though, is Skeppy and he doesn’t have plans to leave Skeppy any time sooner.  
  
There’s only a few drinks, but it isn’t supposed to be a house party. Dream says it’s still supposed to feel like a Christmas party and not a house party- and there’s lights and a Christmas tree, a lot of coffee and biscuits and cookies. It’s only supposed to be a fun light hearted party which adults can enjoy, giving presents to each other and such.  
  
“Skeppy!” Dream shouts, calling Skeppy. “Look above you!” he laughs.  
  
Skeppy looks up and he flushes and hurriedly looks back down. “No way, not here!”  
  
Bad looks up to see what was so interesting, and instantly gets as embarrassed as Skeppy when he sees the mistletoe dangling above them innocently. Bad looks back at his food and continues eating his cake as if he never saw the mistletoe in the first place.  
  
Dream rolls his eyes and walks off to go back to hosting his party.  
  
(Bad doesn’t actually take note of the way Skeppy says _not_ _here_ _.)_  
  
*  
  
It’s the day of Christmas and Bad wakes up earlier than he usually would have on a normal day (it’s 9:45 AM), he hasn’t gotten that many gifts this year- but he is still excited to open some of them, and he gets up to wake Skeppy up and then open their presents together, only to see that Skeppy isn’t in his room.  
  
“Skeppy?” Bad asks and then shakes his head, proceeding to walk into the lounge- where the tree is located.  
  
The first thing he senses is the smell of breakfast when and he looks towards the kitchen to see that Skeppy is cooking pancakes and pushing his hair back so that it won’t get in his face. It amuses Bad that Skeppy is making breakfast for them, but Bad doesn’t question it.  
  
“Merry Christmas.” Bad says, sitting on the kitchen stools and watching Skeppy cook.  
  
“Merry Christmas.” Skeppy replies. “Do you want to eat breakfast and open our presents together?”  
  
Bad nods. The pancakes surprisingly don’t smell burnt, so Bad makes coffee for the both of them, exactly the way they both like it, while Skeppy makes the pancakes for the both of them.  
  
He hasn’t told Skeppy what he got him (obviously) but he’s pretty sure that Skeppy will like it anyway (hopefully) and he has it wrapped in a box, that comes along nicely with a card and some money as well.  
  
Skeppy finishes the pancakes and he sets them up on a plate- it’s fancy too, with icing sugar and chocolate syrup and Skeppy gets the ice cream tub (because they both like pancakes and ice cream together). Bad gets the honey and pours honey all over the pancake as well, and Skeppy thinks its already too much for his stomach, but they eventually finish the pancakes.  
  
When they finish, they both gather around the tree and set the gifts around them by order of whomever’s gift it is. “Am I going to open your gift last, or right now?” Bad asks.  
  
“We’ll leave them for last.” Skeppy says.  
  
So they open their gifts. Bad gets a deluxe edition of his favorite bands new album from Sapnap, a _really_ fat stack of money from Dream, a pastry recipe cook book from George and very cute dog clothes for Rat from Ant (which predictably, is his favourite gift from the bunch). There’s also a lot of cash and some very nice looking clothes in the pile from plenty of his other friends too.  
  
Skeppy gets lights for his room from Finn, a Minecraft diamond hoe from Zelk, a plushie that looks like the poop emoji, and regretably- a giant rainbow dildo from Vurb (who’s card says “hope you like my merch :)”) which Skeppy immediately throws across the house. Skeppy gets clothes and cash as well, and Bad is thankful that Skeppy hasn’t yet recieved a double up on the gift that he is giving Skeppy (though he doubted it in the first place anyway).  
  
“Alright, we’ll open ours at the same time?” Skeppy asks, and Bad nods his head in response.  
Bad carefully unwraps his gift (like he does with all his gifts) and then sees the card a top of the gift and decides to unwrap the rest of it first. It’s two little toy plushies of his and Skeppy’s Minecraft characters just a little bit bigger than his hands.  
  
“How did you..” _know? Get this?_ but he doesn’t ask and watches as Skeppy opens the gift that Bad got him.  
  
Bad looks at the card from Skeppy (which happens to be a card of the night time sky, with the words ‘Merry Christmas’ on it), opens it and then starts to read.  
  
_Dear BadBoyHalo,_  
  
_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You really changed my year, and my life as well. Even though I’ve barely known you for a year, it’s still awesome that we know each other this well and I would love to spend next year (and even more years!!) with you. :)_  
_Thank you for being there. You are truly amazing._  
  
_I know I say it all the time, but you’re my best friend and I feel really privileged and lucky to have someone like you in my life. You’re always there for me countless times. Whenever I need someone to talk to, you’re always there for me. you’re so funny, caring and trustworthy. I would not trade you for anything._  
  
_P.S. i love you and youre my best buddy this is so simpy help_  
_P.P.S If you hadn’t noticed already, there’s a little slip inside the envelope. You should open it :)_  
  
Bad opens the slip, assuming that there’s probably money inside, and then takes it out.  
  
It’s a ticket for two, to go to Arizona from August 12 to August 22. “What is this for Skeppy?”  
  
“Um, you’re an Astronomer.” Skeppy says, as if Bad knew why he bought the tickets. “You should know..”  
  
“Yeah?” Bad says. “So…? Your point is..?”  
  
Skeppy rolls his eyes. “And what is happening on the Astronomical calendar every year at around August 12 and 13?” he says.  
  
Bad tries to remember and- “Oh,” he says realizing what’s on those dates. The peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower. “Oh my goodness, Skeppy.” he says. “Skeppy, oh my goodness, why would you do this for me? Oh wow, and Arizona is one of the best places for stargazing and ooooh, wow. You are amazing.” Bad freaks out.  
  
“Hey, you’re not the only one in this apartment that knows the Astronomical calendar.” Skeppy says, smiling at Bad. “We’re going to go in August, together.” he says, tapping his fingers rapidly. “I really wanted to see it, and I knew you would probably like that a lot, so.. yeah.” he says.  
  
Bad nods and then looks at the gift he’s given Skeppy.  
  
Skeppy opens his gift right after Bad, and starts to read the card. Bad can’t quite remember every single detail on the card, but he knows that on the front there is a boy on the moon, playing an instrument.  
  
Skeppy starts smiling when he opens the card, as Bad knows that the first thing he sees are tickets and the $50. “Ohhh myyyy god, Bad?” he says, his voice getting very high pitched and excited. “Bad? Are you actually shitting down my leg? Oh wow, Disneyland? Oh my gosh, thank you so much- wow. I actually really wanted to go with you and thank you, thank you, thank you.”  
  
“It isn’t as amazing as your gift.” Bad says, shyly. “-and language,” he quickly adds.  
  
“Are you kidding me?” Skeppy says and then shakes his head.  
  
Skeppy’s eyes flick back to the card and he begins to read what the script on the card says, and begins to blush madly, his cheeks tinting a bright pink colour.  
  
( _Dear Skeppy!_  
  
_I hope you really liked those tickets to Disneyland and we can both go together :D. I know we’ll have fun, even if you didn’t want to go anyway! I didn’t know what else to get for you, so I gave you $50 instead. I hope you dont mind. :P_  
  
_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ^_^ I can’t believe it’s almost 2020, and I hope I made your year as great as you made mine, because spending time with you and meeting you was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me- and I’ve had a lot of great things happen to me this year!_  
  
_Even when we don't see eye to eye you're always so understanding. You're always there when I need someone to talk to. You makes me laugh and cheer me up when I'm down. I hope everyone can find someone like you in their life._  
  
_(You shine as bright as the stars shine.)_  
  
_— Bad <3)_  
  
*  
  
It’s New Years Eve, an hour before midnight. It’s so close to 2020 and Bad can already feel that it’s going to be a good year for him, and he’s so excited.  
  
They set off small fireworks, every time it gets closer to midnight. There’s the hour fireworks, the one to signal that it’s so close. There’s the half time, and Bad knows that there’s half an hour until the new year. Fifteen minutes, ten minutes, five minutes.  
  
Bad looks toward Skeppy, his best friend and his crush. The person who he is in love with, and is pretty sure is in love with him as well. Skeppy makes Bad happy and everything about Skeppy, whether it’s his touch or the way he talks, makes Bad feel nauseous.  
  
It’s the end of 2019, and Bad isn’t afraid to admit it to himself anymore. He’s in love with Skeppy.  
  
_Sixty seconds._  
  
There’s one more minute, and the sixty second countdown has begun. Bad is looking at the sky, counting along with the rest of the people to the beginning of a new year. Bad can hear the excitement in people’s voices, the tone that they can’t wait to reset and start again.  
  
_Forty five seconds._  
  
Skeppy leans on Bad’s shoulders, watching the countdown as well. Bad’s counting down the seconds too- maybe not as loudly as Skeppy, but still in a considerate volume. Bad keeps Skeppy close to him.  
  
_Thirty seconds._  
  
Bad is preparing his voice- he doesn’t shout very often, but this is an appropriate time. He wants to scream and shout and let it all out, he wants cheer for the new year. He loves this year so much, and he will keep 2019 a memory in his mind, forever- but he’s also so ready for the new year and he’s so ready to step forward into the future.  
  
_Twenty seconds._  
  
There’s a thrill that Bad is getting and he’s so happy to be leaping into the new year with Skeppy, because if he wanted to spend the year (or an entire lifetime) with anyone in the entire world, it would be Skeppy.  
  
_Ten._  
  
He remembers graduating university earlier in the year. He remembers being so happy, and he remembers thinking: ‘I am so close to where I want to be in my life’ and he remembers that sense of happiness when he could finally say that he was finally finished with university.  
  
_Nine._  
  
Bad remembers when he first became an Astronomer, and he doesn’t remember ever being happier in his entire life that he finally achieved his life goal- to be able to study space and stars.  
  
_Eight._  
  
He remembers meeting Dream and always seeing the cute boy who would walk around with him. He remembers thinking Skeppy was probably someone he would never get the chance to talk to, but here he is, standing next to him at this very moment and looking up at the night sky to enjoy the transition from 2019 to 2020- not just the start of a new year, the start of a new decade, too.  
  
_Seven._  
  
Bad remembers that day when he and Skeppy got to teach children about the magic of space (there isn’t magic, really- but Bad loves it so much that it might as well _be_ magic) and although Bad didn’t really do much to help that day, he remembers that on that day, he bought his favourite space coat.  
  
_Six._  
  
Bad remembers asking to move in with Skeppy. He remembers the feeling of euphoria when Skeppy said that he would love to move in with Bad.  
  
_Five._  
  
Bad remembers watching Interstellar with Skeppy and he remembers that feeling of warmth when Skeppy held Bad’s hand during the movie. Bad hates the fact that he was too shy to ask Skeppy if he wanted to hold hands again.  
  
_Four._  
  
Bad remembers that on the exact day that they watched Interstellar, they started the game of using space pick-up lines on each other. Bad loves it so much and he hopes that this game of using pick up lines on each other never ends like how space never ends.  
  
_Three._  
  
Bad looks at Skeppy at this moment, and he engraves this moment- the present time - into his mind. So that he can remember it forever.  
  
_Two._  
  
Bad stares at Skeppy again, and his eyes should be looking at the sky; but instead he’s looking at Skeppy and imagining, not only the past and the present with him- but he can see the future with him as well.  
  
_One._  
  
Skeppy looks at Bad, who holds his hand. Everything is happening too fast and Bad’s heart is racing, but then Skeppy leans down, his face is inching closer to Bad’s. Their hands are laced together and he can almost taste Skeppy’s lips on his own.  
  
_Zero._  
  
Bad has never had a new years kiss.  
  
Skeppy’s changed that for him.  
  
-  
  
_2020_  
  
It’s January the 4th now, and Skeppy and Bad are at Disneyland, and they’ve been almost absolutely everywhere and every single ride. It’s almost the end of the day, and they’re on the last ride that they could have gone to.  
  
A ferris wheel. Yeah, it’s boring- compared to every ride in the theme park- but they already have gone to almost every single ride in the park and it’s night time, and the lights in the park are on and there are children screaming faintly in the background and a pretty castle and it literally looks as if they are in a magical kingdom.  
  
They’re at the top of the ferris wheel and Bad is looking out the window- everything is so enchanted and he can hear, see and _feel_ the magic in the air today- and he’s been with Skeppy for the entire day.  
  
Bad was a bit flustered to buy an ice cream for Skeppy, and it _almost_ seemed like they were on a date- but they are still friends (and a little bit more) and neither of them have really said anything to imply that they were going on a date, but Bad would love for today to be a date and he wishes that every day was almost as magical as this one.  
  
“I wish we could go to Disneyland every day.” Bad says, his hands on the railing and his eyes looking out at the park and pretty lights that flicker and sprinkle over the distance of the theme park. Bad’s so fascinated because all the lights are like a network of their own stars, and even though they aren’t real stars, they still sparkle and have the same magic like stars- and the childish Disney music even adds flair to the magic that Bad is excited about.  
  
Skeppy rolls his eyes, “You’re like.. eight.” Skeppy comments. He’s leaning his back on the rail of the carriage and looking up at the nighttime sky, eyes wandering over absolutely everywhere.  
  
There’s a bit of silence between them, because they’re both exhausted and out of breath and there isn’t really anything to say in this moment. There’s joyful screams and a magical tune playing in the distance that speaks for the both of them and really, they’re just taking in the view.  
  
“I think they might be having a firework show soon, in a couple of minutes.” Bad says.  
  
Skeppy’s fingers find his way onto Bad’s, and there’s a tiny spark of electricity jolting through Bad’s veins and he’s never felt more awake than at this moment. Bad doesn’t even know what they’re waiting for, because it’s _so_ obvious that they like each other- because they might as well have been wearing huge neon signs with the words ‘ _I like you_ ’ written in bright lights on them. But they still can’t confess and they still can’t do _anything_ because they’re afraid of change and they’re afraid of whatever could happen if their friendship could brea-  
  
“I like you.” Skeppy says, and Bad notices that Skeppy is biting the inside of his cheek, and playing and adjusting his fringe with his other hand, and he looks so nervous and-  
  
“Same.” Bad replies, his lips forming the words before his mind can fathom what Skeppy has said to him into a processed thought.  
  
Bad’s grip on Skeppy’s fingers tighten, and he hopes that Skeppy won’t let go. Skeppy leans his head on Bad’s shoulders and there’s a new feeling in between them, and it feels nice but it makes Bad feel nervous and it’s making his heart to flips and turns and his stomach might have butterflies and it’s _so_ obvious that he really likes Skeppy, because he’s never felt like this for anyone before and his heart had never really done anything like that for anyone before.  
  
“I would go to the moon and back for you.” Skeppy says.  
  
Bad’s heart is doing an extra lap around the universe and he doesn’t know if anyone _but_ Skeppy can make him feel this way and he doesn’t know if anyone _but_ Skeppy can say those exact words to him and mean it truly.  
  
Instead of replying, he rolls his eyes, because of course Skeppy thinks it’s time for another cheesy pick up line. But inside his stomach is still doing flips and he feels as if his heart might be racing as fast as the speed of light, and he might explode because every feeling is too overwhelming for him.  
  
“Um, do you.. want to be my boyfriend?” Skeppy asks, hesitating for a moment. “I mean, we don’t have to.. if you don’t want to. I don’t know. You just.. you act like you like me, too, sometimes, and I just really want to be your boyfriend so we can kiss whenever we want to and hold hands whenever we want to, and do cute boyfriend things for each other and-”  
  
“Yes.” Bad says.  
  
Skeppy opens his mouth and then shuts it. Bad can’t process the fact that they are now officially dating and he can’t believe that Skeppy felt the same way for him- even though Bad has had this nagging feeling all along, it still feels amazing that they could now say that they were together, that they are passed the point of _just_ a little bit more than friends and that they are lovers now. It makes him _so_ happy and he really can’t believe it.  
  
“I really like you. A lot.” Bad blurts out.  
  
Skeppy doesn’t reply.  
  
Instead, he kisses Bad.  
  
Bad has never had a more genuine and sweet kiss in his life. Bad can taste Skeppy’s lips on his, and his stomach is doing _so_ many flips and he’s actually _kissing Skeppy_. And sure, this is the second time that he’s kissed Skeppy ever, but they’re boyfriends now and for some reason it feels _so much more real_.  
  
Bad can hear fireworks erupting in the distance and they pull away, looking each other in the eye, smiling more than ever, even though their moment has been interrupted by fireworks, Bad can’t help but think that he’s really happy. He can’t help but think that they are _together_ now.  
  
“I just noticed that whenever we kiss, there’s always been fireworks somewhere.” Skeppy says.  
  
Bad’s heart flutters, “That’s kind of cheesy,” he replies shyly.  
  
(Bad wants to scream and he wants to gloat to the entire world and he wants to laugh, because he can’t ever recall a time when he was more happy- and he’s so in love and he can’t help but feel joy).  
  
*  
  
Today is Skeppy’s birthday.  
  
They’re holding hands and they haven’t really done much today; it kind of seems like a normal day, to be honest (besides the fact that Bad tried to make pancakes and a special breakfast today for the both of them, and then he tried to get Skeppy to go on a movie date, but Skeppy didn’t really feel like moving so they’re just staying at home and watching movies in their pyjamas instead).  
  
“I just remembered something,” Bad says, “wait right here you muffin, I’ll be back.” he says and then kisses Skeppy on the cheeks.  
  
Skeppy scrunches his nose at the pet name, and it’s obvious that Skeppy can’t really bring himself to call Bad his muffin back, but it’s obvious he finds it endearing too.  
  
Really, if Bad didn’t have Skeppy, he would probably just be sitting at home alone with Rat, playing endless hours of Minecraft and watching endless marathons of anime. Which, well, it is kind of what they do at home- but he’d be doing it lonely instead. Which is just sad to think about.  
  
Skeppy stays cuddled to the couch and his eyes flicker to the TV screen, which is playing My Neighbour Totoro- they’re currently on a Studio Ghibli marathon. Skeppy pays attention to the movie, so Bad scoots up to get the gift he got for Skeppy.  
  
“Geppy,” Bad says and then walks back into their living room, scooting right back to sit next to Skeppy again. “Okay, I just remembered that I got you something- and uh, here you go. It isn’t as cool as going to going to Arizona during the meteor shower, or even cute little plushies of us, but I’m sure that you’ll like it,” Bad says and then sits back on the couch, giving a wrapped present to Skeppy.  
  
Bad rests his head on Skeppy’s shoulders as he opens it, which reveals a light blue hoodie, with the face of Skeppy’s derpy little Minecraft character’s face at the top of the hoodie.  
  
“Oh my god, Bad.” Skeppy says. “I love it?? How did you do this!”  
  
“Put it on!” Bad says.  
  
Skeppy puts the hoodie over his head and snuggles in it. Bad loves how Skeppy looks, with his face hidden partially behind the hoodie and a cute smile. “Thank you.”  
  
*  
  
It’s February the 6th, and Skeppy has just been told that on July the 29th, he will be launched into space and be heading for the moon (along with Skeppy’s other astronaut friends, Spifey and TapL).  
  
“I love you so much, I’m so proud of you,” Bad says, cooing into Skeppy’s ear as they cuddle inside the blankets with their foreheads touching and looking at each other with loving eyes. Today is a special day, and today is a day they will mark in their calendars. “You don’t even know how proud I am of you.”  
  
“I’m just so happy... it’s been my dream, you know?” Skeppy says. His arms are wrapped around his waist and Bad really likes being cuddled by Skeppy- and usually he is never the type to be physically affectionate, nevertheless to be the little spoon, but Skeppy really likes cuddling so Bad gives that position to Skeppy and cuddling seems better when it’s Skeppy’s arms around him.  
  
“You do realize that you’re going to be the youngest person to ever go on the moon, ever.” Bad says.  
  
“Oh, uh.. no I didn’t, actually,” Skeppy says, in awe. “That’s actually a really great honor.”  
  
“Yeah, the youngest to go to space so far was 25 years old. You’re 20, so you’ll be even younger than he was.” Bad comments. “That’s really great, you get to say that you were the youngest man to go on the moon.”  
  
Skeppy grins. “Baaaad! That’s sooo cooool!” he draws out his words excitedly, “I’m going to be on Wikipedia and everything! That’s gonna be amazing!” his smile reaching the ends of the universe.  
  
“You deserve it you muffinhead,” Bad says. “I love you. You’re a star in my eyes.”  
  
“You’re _so_ cheesy,” Skeppy teases.  
  
“Like the moon?” Bad says.  
  
“Not really, because unlike the moon, I already have you here.”  
  
Bad’s face flushes a deep red colour and he attempts to hide his face in Skeppy’s chest, “And you call _me_ the cheesy one.” he mumbles quietly.  
  
(Skeppy laughs and Bad really thinks that Skeppy is a star in his eyes.)  
  
*  
  
There is a huge party in NASA to celebrate the next moon mission for Skeppy, Spifey and TapL. It’s a huge celebration and there’s cake, streamers and drinks. There’s loud music and Bad couldn’t be more happy for Skeppy.  
  
Dream is the host of the party, and when the music stops, he grabs a microphone and stands up on a chair to speak loudly, “In celebration of Zak, Geo and Harvey!” he says while pointing to each person mentioned, “who have worked their asses endlessly just so they can go into space and call themselves ‘astronauts’- or as Spifey likes to call it- Tiny Space Explorers- because they think they’re cool pieces of shit that are better than everyone else because they can get out of this shitty world for six months. Anyway, we’re kind of glad they’re leaving-” Dream jokes and everyone chuckles, “-just kidding, they’re all awesome. Wish them luck on their space adventure!” he says.  
  
Everyone claps in response and she raises her glass, “To our space sailors!” he cheers.  
  
There are cheers all over the building and everyone raises their glasses, and proceeds to drink the wine. Bad makes his way over to Skeppy, but there are too many people crowded around the three soon-to-be space adventurers, and it takes a while before Bad can finally talk to Skeppy.  
  
“Bad,” Skeppy says, “I missed you.”  
  
“Me too,” Bad says.  
  
It’s not as if they can’t _live_ without each other, but Bad just feels like half of him disappears, like there’s an empty nonexistent aura beside him- where Skeppy usually is. It’s like there’s a certain part of him that’s gone.  
  
(They leave the center of the room and begin to eat the party food in their own little corner, never once leaving the other’s presence after their separation.)  
  
*  
  
Since Bad doesn’t work in the same work department as Skeppy, they aren’t seen together at work very often, aside from lunch breaks. People have begun to notice the holding hands under the table, sharing each others drinks, feeding each other food, and even stolen kisses right before work shifts start.  
  
They don’t really mind it that much.  
  
But they’re playing this game on how long it will take for someone to comment on their relationship without any of them saying their relationship status.  
  
It’s taking a really long time, but Skeppy and Bad snicker at the oblivion in their workplace and they hold hands under the table again, and lean onto each other.  
  
*  
  
It’s Vurb who is the first to say something about their relationship, “You know, you guys are really bad at hiding your relationship. We can see that you guys are holding hands under the table and kissing each other. We aren’t blind.” he says.  
  
Skeppy holds Bad’s hand and then puts his head on Bad’s shoulder, “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend.” Skeppy says.  
  
(Bad really likes it when Skeppy says that they’re together)  
  
It’s Finn who whispers harshly beside him, “I told you they would only hook up only this week.” and then smiling smugly and pulling their hand out as if Vurb owes them money.  
  
Vurb slaps Finn’s hand away pretty viciously and then smiles towards the two of them - who appear to be confused about what’s happening (but judging by the money, smirking and boasting- they can tell that the entire idots & co made bets about their relationship), “So when did guys you hook up?” Vurb asks.  
  
“Um, a few days after New Years.” Skeppy answers, his fingers curling with Bad’s.  
  
“Hah! I told you!” Vurb says and shakes his booty onto Finn’s face, “You owe me twenty now,” he says and then smirks as Finn rolls his eyes and hands him twenty, “everyone in this room owes me twenty!” Vurb shouts out loudly, followed by multiple groans through the room.  
  
“I can’t believe you guys were making bets on when we were going to hook up.” Bad says, with a blush painted across his face.  
Vurb shrugs, like it’s normal.  
  
(Bad’s pretty happy that they’re out now though, he’s glad that no one reacted harshly about them and he’s definitely most glad that Skeppy is beside him.)  
  
*  
  
“The next few weeks are going to be so fun. We’re going to be launching the ship into space and then the Perseids Meteor Shower, right after.” George, who’s Bad’s other astronomer friend, says as he looks at the Astronomical Calendar. “It’s definitely my favourite Meteor Shower every year.”  
  
“Oh, yeah. Skeppy and I are going into Arizona for the Shower on the 12th,” Bad comments, remembering about their trip to Arizona.  
  
George tilts his head, looking at Bad oddly. “But isn’t Skeppy leaving soon?”  
  
“Muffins,” Bad censors his swear, “I didn’t realize that.”  
  
How was he so stupid to forget? How did he not remember that Skeppy was going to be gone by the time that the Meteor Shower started? How come he didn’t notice? (Bad’s fingers curl again and he’s hurting for some reason, and he’s getting a migraine thinking about it).  
  
“Are you still going to go?” George asks.  
  
“I’ll talk to Skeppy about it.”  
  
*  
  
“Skeppy, um.. you remember how we were going to go to Arizona for the Perseids Meteor Shower?” Bad asks, when they’re both back at home and sitting on the couch watching whatever is on TV.  
  
“Oh, yeah?” Skeppy says.  
  
“You’ll be gone before it even starts,” Bad says. “what are we going to do?”  
  
“Oh, fuck,” he says. Bad quickly _language_ s him before he continues. “I didn’t realize that. Just, um.. I don’t want those tickets to go to waste, and I know you really want to go. And, um, I can’t exactly ask to push the dates for the launch..” Skeppy says. “Give it to someone else. Give my ticket to Dream or any of your friends instead.”  
  
“What?!” Bad says. “Really?”  
  
“Yeah. I’m sure that she would love to see it.”  
  
Bad’s fingers curl in Skeppy’s, “I wish I could see it with you though..” he says.  
  
(They both know that can’t happen).  
  
*  
  
“Pass me the remote,” Skeppy says.  
  
“What?” Bad replies.  
  
“You’re so deaf, oh my god.. why can’t you ever hear anything I say?” Skeppy rambles.  
  
Bad bites the insides of his cheek, eyes flashing downwards. Skeppy’s been like this a lot recently, and he _hates_ it. He doesn’t like it when Skeppy rambles at him because Bad knows that means he’s in a bad mood.  
  
Bad’s fingers curl and he doesn’t know why but he feels as if their relationship is about to crumble soon, and he doesn’t know when it happened but they’ve grown more distant and they’re starting to have big arguments over the silliest things.  
  
Bad doesn’t reply.  
  
“Just pass me the remote..” Skeppy sighs, defeated.  
  
Bad passes Skeppy the remote.  
  
Skeppy doesn’t make Bad as happy as he used to.  
  
*  
  
Skeppy gets ticked off at Bad for the tiniest reasons; whether it be leaving a sock on the floor, leaving the TV on for the entire night or keeping one of the cupboard doors open. If there is any reason Skeppy can get mad at Bad, even if it’s small, Skeppy will yell and Bad can’t help but shout back which escalates into more fighting and shouting and screaming and it hurts. It hurts so much.  
  
It’s been happening quite a lot recently and Bad’s patience runs thin and he hates it when Skeppy screams but Bad is so convinced that he is in love with Skeppy. He loves Skeppy _so much_ but for some reason they’ve been drifting off from each other and they don’t even sleep in the same bed anymore, like how they used to.  
  
Skeppy is yelling, and his shouts are screeching in his ears that can never stop ringing. Bad doesn’t even know why Skeppy is yelling this time but all he knows is that Skeppy is pissed and tired, and Bad just wants him to stop but neither of the, can because they both just keep going at each other because somehow a small thing is always each others fault and they’re both too prideful to admit they’e wrong and say they’re sorry. And they make up, they do, but the fights happen every day over and over and over again and it’s exhausting.  
  
“Do you even love me?” Bad mumbles, whilst Skeppy is shouting.  
  
He doesn’t know why he has the terrifying thought that maybe Skeppy might not love him.  
  
But that’s how he’s been feeling lately.  
  
Skeppy is stopped short, and he stops yelling. There’s only silence in their apartment now, and Bad is _so_ sure that he fucked up and he hates the silence, because he would rather have Skeppy yelling at him than _this_ \- because the silence is louder than the screams and all he can hear is nothing, but at the same time _everything_.  
  
Bad’s stomach clenches.  
  
Skeppy’s silence doesn’t reassure him in the slightest.  
  
(Bad get’s a sinking feeling that maybe Skeppy doesn’t love him at all.)  
  
“ _Because I can see billions of fucking galaxies in your eyes and I can’t find a_ _single_ _star in my own_.”  
  
(Bad is silent, but he still doesn’t know if he can forgive Skeppy)  
  
*  
  
Skeppy is leaving in a couple of days, and all they can do is cuddle together in blankets. Their relationship has been in a rough spot and they’ve been fighting and arguing plenty but even still, Bad knows how much it’s going to hurt when Skeppy leaves.  
Bad knows that he will miss Skeppy, so they spend every moment together with each other as much as possible.  
  
“I’m going to miss you.” Bad says.  
  
Even though they might not have the same magic that they used to when they first started dating, Bad still loves Skeppy and he’s still in love with Skeppy (even though he knows he is really just trying to convince himself).  
  
“Me too..” Skeppy mumbles. “I’ll miss you a lot. Who’s going to keep me sane while I’m in space?” he laughs halfheartedly.  
  
And he knows that he will miss Skeppy, but he isn’t too sure if he’s in love with Skeppy anymore.  
  
The flame is burning out, and Bad really hopes that it doesn’t die when Skeppy leaves.  
  
*  
  
“I can’t believe you’re going tomorrow.” Bad says, his hands intertwined with Skeppy’s, foreheads touching.  
  
“Me too..” Skeppy says. “I’m going to go to the moon.. I mean, like I’ve flown before and I’ve been outside of Earth to visit like.. satellites and stuff.. but my feet are actually going to touch the moon, and wow. That’s.. that’s a hard thought to process.”  
  
Bad nods his head.  
  
“I’m sorry I’ve been acting like an asshole to you, for the past few weeks..” Skeppy says. “I guess I’ve just been stressed, you know? There’s all of that studying and training, and.. ah, I’m sorry I took it out on you,” he apologizes. “Ah, I hope you can forgive me for being a muffinhead. I love you, Bad.” Skeppy says.  
  
Bad nods once more. He decides to let Skeppy’s inappropriate language slip for once. “Well, you were kind of a muffinhead.” Bad says. “But I forgive you. I’m sorry too. And I love you too, even if you were being muffin-y.” Bad says, in a cheeky voice.  
  
Skeppy gasps, “I can’t believe you would call me a muffinhead!”  
  
“I was just telling the truth..” Bad says.  
  
“I hate you a lot.” Skeppy jokes, punching Bad lightly with his other hand.  
  
Silence fills the room, and for some reason it feels like they can both read each others minds. Because the silence is only, _I’m going to miss you a lot_ and _I love you so much_ and _so_ much more than that.  
  
“I wish we had more time together.” Skeppy says.  
  
“Me too.”  
  
“I wish we could at least watch the first day of the meteor shower together.”  
  
“You can watch it from space, right?”  
  
“I’ll try to see it for myself.” Skeppy says. “I’m sure the stargazing in space will be amazing though,” he grins.  
  
“Haha, you’ll be getting the front row seats. I’m actually kind of jealous,” Bad laughs. “I hope you have a good time, in space. You should totally collect moonstones. Oooo! That would be a really awesome souvenir.”  
  
Skeppy nods. “Yes BadBoyHalo,” he says. “I love you. A lot.”  
  
Neither of them can sleep that night.  
  
*  
  
“Don’t forget me, okay? I know it sounds kind of dumb, but.. don’t forget me! I’ll probably cry a lot, if you forget me.” Skeppy says.  
  
“Goodbye, Geppy,” Bad says, patting Skeppy’s head. “I know you’ll be out there. I would never forget you,” he smiles, pulling Skeppy in for one last hug. “I can’t believe you’re going in a few hours. I’m going to be with Dream, so I’ll be watching you take off. Be safe, okay? Promise me that you won’t die, or anything, okay?” Bad says, very worried.  
  
“Bad, unless something similar to the Apollo 13 happened, then I think I’ll be pretty safe. And even the Apollo 13 crew survived, okay? I’ll be okay. Don’t doubt Dream and his crew’s hard work,” he says. “I’ll be on the moon, and I’ll miss you and I love you but I’ll be back soon. Okay?” he says, giving a reassuring glance to Bad while carefully and gently holding his fragile hand.  
  
Bad nods his head. “Okay, little astronaut.”  
  
“Okay, little astronomer.” Skeppy replies back.  
  
Bad moves his glasses away from his face to wipe the tears from his eyes. “I’m not little,” he adds one last time.  
  
“We’re the same height.” Skeppy punches him lightly.  
  
“Ahmed, your presence is called for at the launch area,” the PA announces.  
  
“That’s you.” Bad says, and Bad can’t deny that his heart is racing and he can’t deny how nervous he is.  
  
Bad gulps, and his fingers curl, his eyes are facing the floor and he can’t really look at Skeppy. He has the feeling that he’ll probably cry if he does look, there’s a sense of selfishness, and he doesn’t really want Skeppy to leave.  
  
Bad pulls Skeppy’s sleeve. “Kiss me before you leave.”  
  
Skeppy does.  
  
Bad tries to make it as long as possible, but he knows their time is running short.  
  
“Ahmed, your presence is required at the launch area.” the PA repeats.  
  
They pull away.  
  
“I’ll see you soon, little astronomer.” Skeppy says, saluting Bad with a smile.  
  
“You too, little astronaut.” he says. “I love you.”  
  
*  
  
Bad shouldn’t really be in the control room, but Dream has given him access. (Also, because Skeppy kind of begged Dream to let Bad see the take off). There’s a lot of buttons and computer screens, that Bad knows he shouldn’t touch. People have their headsets on, and the Executive Director is in the middle of the room shouting commands every so often.  
  
“Check if all the astronauts are inside the shuttle with their gear,” the Executive says.  
  
“Harvey, George and Zak are all present, sir. They’re all in their designated area and are ready for take off,” a lady says.  
  
“Alright, and everything else is checked off? Double checked off?” he says.  
  
“Yes, sir. The oxygen tanks, fuel, everything is ready,” she says.  
  
“Okay, then we’re ready for take off. Start the countdown,” the Executive says.  
  
Bad sits nervously in his seat as the executive fires a bunch of commands at the workers; they’re tapping buttons rapidly at their computers as the countdown strikes closer and closer to the number zero. Dream has a pen in his hands, doing pen tricks and spins as he is watching. He looks nervous.  
  
“I got this, don’t worry,” Dream says.  
  
“I’m not worrying,” Bad says, trying to convince himself.  
  
_“T minus 30 seconds.”_ the PA announces.  
  
“So what is all of this programming for, right here?”  
  
“Uh, it doesn’t do anything _yet_. It’s programmed to go off once the timer finishes. It will set the boosters and wings up. Once they get out of Earth’s atmosphere, which they’ll say once they communicate with us, we’ll receive a message and then once we get that, we’ll remove all of the excess weight. The only reason why we need things like the boosters and wings is to get them off the ground. Once they’re in space, they won’t really need it anymore because of zero gravity.”  
  
Bad nods. “Wait, so if they can still communicate with us, doesn’t that mean I can still talk to Skeppy?”  
  
“If only it worked like that. But I mean, I guess, yeah. But only for a little bit because the satellite signal only faces Earth and well.. it doesn’t go as far as the moon.” Dream says. “Besides, the messages are broadcasted throughout the entire NASA, so good luck on trying to serenade your love to your husband privately.”  
  
“I wasn’t thinking of serenading him…” Bad pouts. (He definitely was.)  
  
_“T minus 15 seconds.”_  
  
“Whatever. You’re not very good at lying.” Dream mutters.  
  
_“Ten seconds to liftoff. Ten, nine, eight,”_  
  
“I hope they don’t die.” Bad says.  
  
“Don’t doubt my hard work.” Dream says.  
  
“I’m not.” Bad scoffs. “I just said that I hope that they don’t die.”  
  
“They won’t. They’ll make it.”  
  
_“five, four, three, two, one.”_  
  
“Bye, little astronaut,” Bad mumbles under his breath.  
  
_“Takeoff.”_  
  
*  
  
The takeoff goes well. Unsurprisingly, it’s loud and deafening. Dream has ear mufflers with him, and an extra pair which he gave to Bad, earlier. He gives the red ones resembling that have a sillhoette resembling demon horns on the too, and Dream takes the other one which are bright neon green and have a white smiley face on the side.  
  
“They’re okay,” Dream says. “They’ll be fine.”  
  
Bad nods his head.  
  
He can trust Dream.  
  
“Hey Dream, let’s go to Arizona together.”  
  
*  
  
The day after the takeoff, and the Perseids Meteor Shower has begun. Dream knows about his ticket to Arizona. So many of their friends are here too. Not just Bad and Dream- but Sapnap, George, Ant and all of their partners too. They’re all going together, the day before the peak of the shower, which Bad thinks is amazing.  
  
They’ve still got a couple more days until the trip, so Bad hasn’t packed yet (he usually doesn’t leave his packing until the last day anyway) and the rest of his astronomer friends are going to a nice park away from the city during the days of the Meteor Shower. Bad is going too, as this specific meteor shower is always something he looks forward to every year.  
  
They’re in the park right now, and Bad is eating some crisps and laying down on a picnic rug to look up at the sky, which is clear and glowing with a network of lights. Everyone here is fascinated and Bad can tell by the heavy amounts of gear like cameras and binoculars and telescopes.  
  
He’s not ashamed to admit that he bought his own telescope, and even though he isn’t an astrophotographer, he still can’t pass up a chance like this. Especially when he has the Celestron Nexstar SE 6 bundle. The only thing he’s ashamed in admitting is the amount of money he spent on the thing.  
  
Honestly, Bad thinks that this entire trip is an opportunity to boast about their telescopes and how much money they spent on their thing and to look at each others and compare them, judging by the amount of, “Oh my god, you have the Celestron Astromaster, get out of here!” and “Wait a second, is that the Matsukov Cassegrain Telescope?” and other, similar battle cries. Bad doesn’t mind though and also kind of is internally fangirling about telescopes with them as well.  
  
He’s pretty happy, and his equipment is set up in front of him. He knows that there shouldn’t be that many meteors tonight, as it’s only the first day of the shower, but he’s more interested in the stars tonight. He can locate Rigel and the stars in Orion. He can spot the Andromeda constellation and the Andromeda Galaxy, which swells his heart.  
  
“Bad, the shower is starting. Look up!” George says.  
  
Bad looks up and it’s true. Comets are flying past, with rays of light speeding along behind them. It’s odd how Bad knows the science to meteors and meteorites, yet he still thinks that they’re still as magical as they were when he first saw a meteor shower at the age of 15.  
He wishes he could see it with Skeppy, though.  
  
Ant is holding hands with Velvet. And all of his astronomer friends have their partners or best friends with them. Everyone had bought their life partners with them, platonic or romantic, it didn’t matter, because their partners were with them.  
  
Bad’s fingers tighten its grip around the telescope, and it’s hard to breathe all of a sudden.  
  
He looks up at the meteors, and he makes a wish on a shooting star.  
  
(He wishes for Skeppy’s safety.)  
  
*  
  
He’s all packed for Arizona, and they’re already leaving. Bad hasn’t been on a plane or in an airport in a while, but he’s pretty sure he knows how it works. He gets anxious, even though there isn’t any reason to be anxious- but he follows Dream around, because he’s afraid he might get lost.  
  
There’s metal detectors, and security guards, and old ladies asking for passports. Everything’s messy and complicated, but they work their way around, and they’re finally at their seats inside the aeroplane.  
  
Bad’s glad that Dream is here and giving him company, but all he can think about is that it could have been Skeppy alongside him.  
  
*  
  
It’s 2AM and they are outside, in what Bad thinks is one of the most serene places in the entire world. He can see the strip of light and Bad finally understands why the latins called the galaxy the ‘milky way’. The cosmos and everything in it really does look like a strip of road with droplets of milk on a dark table. It dazes him and he wishes he could look at the sky forever and ever.  
  
The Meteor Shower has already started, and he’s spotted a few meteors. Dream is just as in awe as he is with the stars, and he thinks it’s pretty cool to have friends just as obsessed with stars as he is.  
  
There’s a silence, and they’re both sitting on their picnic rugs and laying down looking up at the sky.  
  
“Dream?” he says.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I miss him.”  
  
(It says a lot when Dream knows who he is talking about without even mentioning a name.)  
  
*  
  
Bad is hurting.  
  
You can tell, because when Bad looks up at the sky he’s not thinking about the stars or how unfathomably out of his reach they are to him, he’s thinking about _when will Skeppy come back? How soon will it be? I wonder if he’s thinking about me._  
  
Bad doesn’t want him gone any longer, but he finds himself thinking that Skeppy is as beautiful as the stars, and his place in the sky suits him.  
  
Like the stars- Skeppy is also unfathomably out of his reach.  
  
*  
  
“You know,” Dream says, while they’re stargazing. “He wanted to speak to you for ages.”  
  
“What?” Bad asks, without registering what it means.  
  
“Well, I had to show him around the area because he was new. He saw you, y’know. He’d ask me about you a lot and what you were like. And I could tell you were interested in him because you kept looking over whenever I was hanging out with him.” Dream laughs. “You’re so obvious, Bad,”  
  
“I am not,” he pouts.  
  
“Are too,” Dream argues back.  
  
(Bad doesn’t continue to argue.)  
  
*  
  
Dream and Bad arrive back home; they spent the days watching comets, star gazing, going to art museums during the day and eating lunch, and also hiking up mountains (because Dream forced them too and not because Bad wanted to).  
  
Dream admits it was a little bit unnecessary to make them hike, because both of them weren’t all too well in the ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’ department, but they made it to the top. The hike wasn’t that long, but it was still exhausting. Bad admits, that even though it was painful, he did like watching the comets fly past during his hike.  
  
Bad thinks that through all that effort, the hike was worth it. The scenery was breathtaking and exhilarating and flawless. The view was spectacular and a comet rushed past them, just to add to the marvellous view.  
  
“This is beautiful.” Bad says. “How did you find this place, anyway?”  
  
“I don’t know, I just wanted to do something while we were stargazing.” Dream says. “Sit down, let’s have a night picnic.” she says, sitting down on a rock and gesturing for Bad to sit next to her.  
  
Bad sits and he watches the stars, the comets are flying, one rushing past every minute or so. He knows that meteor showers aren’t _rare_ , but he still can’t help but get the breathtaking feeling everytime he sees a meteor.  
  
Dream rests his head on Bad’s shoulder. “You know, you’re kind of like a brother to me.” he says.  
  
Bad nods and smiles, because he agrees. He thinks of Dream like a little brother, too, and he really cares a lot about him. If something ever happened to him, he would be devastated. Bad was Dream’s first friend when he first started studying space science, they both entered NASA together, and he’s also the one that introduced him to Skeppy.  
  
Bad’s smile falters when he thinks of Skeppy. His hands are shaking and now all he can think of is, _is Skeppy okay right now? Does he know I’m thinking about him? I wonder what he’s thinking about.._ and Bad is in a constant state of panic and worry and anxiety whenever he thinks about Skeppy.  
  
“I know you’re thinking about Skeppy.” Dream says.  
  
Bad is baffled by his accuracy.  
  
“Are you a mind reader?” he asks, flabberghasted. “How did you know?”  
  
“Your body language is really different depending on what mood you’re in. When you’re happy and thinking about Skeppy, you have the most stupid smile on your face- it’s endearing and also disgusting,” she says. “And when you’re sad and thinking about Skeppy you look like you could cry a million floods, but you try not to frown, and you clench your fists and get really tense. It’s really obvious.”  
  
Bad flushes red.  
  
“I miss him.” he says, because those three words are the closest he will ever get to wording his feelings. Because there are a million words in the english language, but he could never string any of them to say how much he misses Skeppy. “I wish he was here, with us.”  
  
“He’s not dead, you know?” Dream says.  
  
“I know, but..” _I’m missing a part of me that used to be next to me._  
  
He never finishes his sentence, but he knows he doesn’t need to.  
  
*  
  
Bad is back home from Arizona.  
  
The smell of the apartment hits him hard when he opens the door. It’s warm and welcoming; it smells like Skeppy. A mixture of fire and musk, it’s strong but sweet, warm and welcoming.  
  
Bad stops and his heart swells, because all he can smell is Skeppy. Everything is Skeppy and it’s all so overwhelming to him- because he knows Skeppy is gone, but there’s a part of him that thinks he’s still here.  
  
He hasn’t even taken one step into the apartment, yet he’s drowning underwater, he’s suffocating and choking, grasping for air that is long gone.  
  
He drops his bag.  
  
*  
Bad’s stomach churns and he is empty.  
  
He still sleeps on the left side of the bed, because Skeppy sleeps on the right and it would be wrong for him to suddenly take his side.  
  
He still makes two cups of coffee everyday, and when he’s ordering dinner, he always orders enough for two. He buys two boxes of cereal, and nobody is there to tell him off when he eats Skeppy’s cereal. Nobody ever leaves the cupboard doors open or yells at him whenever Rat gets a little bit too noisy.  
  
Bad is dependent on Skeppy’s company.  
  
It takes him a while for him to realize that.  
  
*  
  
People notice.  
  
When he looks up at the night time sky, they always ask the same exact question, even if they don’t say it out loud, “Are you looking at the stars or are you trying to find Skeppy?”  
  
If Bad is being honest, it’s the latter.  
  
_*_  
  
_months later._  
  
Bad thinks it won’t be that long.  
  
But time stretches, and it’s unbearably long. One second feels like an eternity without Skeppy. He’s tired and he can’t help but feel as if he isn’t enjoying his time. He’s like a robot, doing work without reason. _It’s for the stars,_ he thinks.  
  
(But he’s finally found something- no, some _one_ \- he loves more than the stars. But Skeppy is gone.)  
  
_*_  
  
_“_ _Long distance relationships aren’t that hard.”_  
  
People tell him that, but they’re wrong. They’re wrong and they couldn’t be more wrong.  
  
There’s nothing. No calls, no texts, no communication.  
  
Everything is void, and they haven’t spoken in months. There’s no internet in space, there’s no reception in space. Skeppy can’t send Bad cute selfies whenever he wants, Skeppy can’t send cute texts or ask if they can call on Skype. They have nothing.  
  
The only thing they have is the distance between the world and the moon.  
  
Bad’s stomach clenches and churns.  
  
_“_ _Long distance relationships aren’t that hard.”_  
  
Do they even know what they are talking about?  
  
*  
  
Skeppy should be coming home soon. It’s December and the city is filled with Christmas lights. The weather is starting to get chilly and Bad can see his breath in the air.  
  
Christmas is his favourite time of the year, and he loves dressing in sweaters and drinking hot chocolate in the really cold days. He loves putting up the Christmas tree and mentally competing with his neighbours in terms of Christmas decorations.  
  
Bad is in the same starbucks that they were in last December. He’s sitting on the same seat and drinking the same exact drink, a Christmas Cookie Latte, along with a chocolate cake. The same Christmas music is playing, and although he doesn’t have Skeppy, Bad is happy because he knows that Skeppy is going to be coming back soon.  
  
Skeppy is going to be back soon, a few more days and he’ll return.  
  
Mariah Carey pops up, a familiar tune playing.  
  
_All I want for Christmas is you!~_  
  
Bad contentedly sips his Latte, tapping his fingers to the beat of the tune, because he couldn’t ever agree more with Christmas song lyrics in his entire life.  
  
*  
  
“They were supposed to be back a few days ago.” Dream says.  
  
“Wh- what do you mean?”  
  
“The boys. Skeppy, Spifey and TapL,” he states. “They were supposed to be back a few days ago, but we haven’t even had a signal from them yet.” he says, tapping her fingers anxiously and pushing her hair back out of stress.  
  
Anybody could tell that he hasn’t had any rest for a few days just by looking at his eyes. They are cloudy and dark, there are wrinkles around them, heavy bags droop under them. His hair is a mess, left unbrushed and most likely very dirty.  
  
Bad’s heart shatters.  
  
“Y- you mean..”  
  
“I- I don’t know, Bad.” he says. “It could mean anything. We just have to… hope for the best.”  
  
Bad doesn’t know what that means, but he really is hoping for the best.  
  
*  
  
He spends Christmas alone.  
  
He didn’t get what he wanted for Christmas.  
  
*  
  
It’s 2021.  
  
Skeppy isn’t back yet.  
  
*  
  
“Come to L’manberg Park after work with me,” Dream says, like it’s a statement.  
  
Bad doesn’t question it, but he goes with him anyway. They go by train, and when they hop off they walk straight to the park, grabbing some gelato from an ice cream truck along the way.  
  
The sun is shining and Bad thinks it’s a good day.  
  
He kicks a stone, while walking and eating his ice cream. L’manberg Park happens to be near the ocean, so the scent of salt and sand enters his nose, and the snow has just melted recently but there’s still a chilly air around them, and he’s never felt more like summer in the winter.  
  
“Bad!”  
  
He looks up from the ground.  
  
The stone stops rolling.  
  
It’s Skeppy.  
  
(Bad can’t hear anything except the pounding of his heart)  
  
*  
  
“Baaaaad!” He shouts from across the park while running at full speed. Skeppy lunges toward Bad and they both go tumbling down onto the ground, but they’re both grinning and laughing. The cement is hard against Bad’s body, but the only thing he can feel is euphoria and bliss at the feeling of seeing Skeppy.  
  
Bad’s hands interlocked with Skeppy’s, fingers weaving among each other. “Geppy, I missed you so much.” Bad can’t stop smiling as he says it. He has so many words, but they still wouldn’t be enough to express how he feels.  
  
“Me too.” Skeppy says.  
  
“When did you come back?” Bad asks.  
  
“Yesterday,” he grins. “Dream wanted to surprise you, so he hid me away from you. I think it was pretty mean to do to keep me hidden from you, but I’m so happy I can see you now.” Skeppy says, and he nuzzles his forehead on Bad’s. No one could ever be able to take this moment away from the-  
  
“I’ll be leaving you two now!~” Dream says in a sing song voice.  
  
“Dreaaam, that was so unfair of you to hide me” Skeppy whines.  
  
“I don’t care. Just go on a date already!” Dream says, then waves her hand goodbye, walking away from the park to leave them alone.  
  
Skeppy leaves a small kiss on Bad’s nose before trying to get up. “Sounds like a good idea,” he says. “You wanna go on a date, Halo?” Skeppy pokes his tongue out, and holds his hand out for Bad, helping him to get up from the ground.  
  
“Sure thing, astro boy.” Bad says, reaching out for his hand.  
  
*  
  
It’s night time now, and they’re sitting at the side of the beach, watching the waves roll back and forth while eating their own ice creams and holding hands. Skeppy is resting his head on Bad’s and he has sworn he doesn’t recall a time when he’s ever been more in love then he is now, and he has never felt so content in months and.  
  
“Did you like our first date of the year?” Skeppy asks him.  
  
“It was okay, kind of average.” Bad snickers, teasing.  
  
“Wow, you’re cold.” he says, pouting while shaking his ice cream in his hand. “like ice cream.”  
  
Bad looks up at the stars. “Yeah, but ice cream is also sweet.” Bad says, snapping his fingers at Skeppy.  
  
“Are you implying that you’re sweet?” Skeppy chuckles. “Because I’ve tasted you, and let me say this, you’re not sweet, you’re hot as f-” Skeppy is stopped abruptly in mid sentence when Bad smacks Skeppy.  
  
“I want to see you try to be sweeter.” Bad grunts.  
  
Skeppy holds Bad’s face, so that Bad is facing him. Skeppy caresses Bad, holding him tenderly.  
  
“Well,” Skeppy says. _“I told you I would go to the moon and back for you.”_

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: i dont actually ship skephalo, this is actually a fic i wrote about 5 years ago that was left sitting in my tumblr archives for another ship and i honest to god still love this fic a lot so i just edited it for skephalo bc i thought that you skephaloers need a banger au and i thought maybe this could maybe be it. love u all <3
> 
> in all seriousness give me clout for this i honestly enjoy this fic a lot but editing this was so painful and i feel like i had to gut all of my pride down the drain just to be able to post this bc i actually really dont ship them lmao


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